The Insidious series is a hell of a work horse. Most franchises would be running out of steam after four movies, either because they’d have burned through too much plot or because people would be absolutely sick of them, but Insidious has managed to keep things going for a long time without becoming as annoyingly complex as, say, the Saw movies. One advantage is that it’s hard to remember which series Insidious even is, so you might be a few minutes into one of these movies before you recall whether or not it’s the series with Ethan Hawke and the creepy home movies (it’s not, that’s Sinister) or the one with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmgia (that’s The Conjuring, but Insidious does have Patrick Wilson). It’s hard to get tired of something that just shows up every two or three years, does its job, and then respectfully bows out without making any waves.
Well, get ready to say “which series is that again?” and “oh yeah, I think I’ve seen those” for a fifth time, because Variety says Blumhouse has confirmed that it’s making a fifth Insidious movie. This time around, though, there’s an added hook that threatens to make this one a little more memorable than the previous four movies: Insidious 5 will be the directorial debut of series star Patrick Wilson. In a statement, he said that getting this job is “both professionally and personally a full circle moment” for him, and he’s “extremely grateful” to be able to keep this story going.
If you need a refresher, the Insidious movies mostly revolve around spirits from a ghostly world called The Further trying to force their way into the human world so they can… do ghost stuff. The most recent film was 2018's Insidious: The Last Key, which took place after Insidious: Chapter 3 but before the first two films. Insidious 5 will take place a decade after the events of The Last Key, with Dalton—the kid being terrorized by demonic figures in the first Insidious—heading off to college. Lin Shaye will probably show up as a helpful spirit, since this one will take place after she was murdered (spoiler alert, if you remember these movies).